Monthly Flavors for February – Cupid’s Busy Month
February, the month of love! Valentine’s Day is here, and chocolate is in the air. This is the time to ply that special someone with
“Do you remember, the 21st night of September?” Earth, Wind, and Fire is certainly one of the first things I think about for this month! As fall steals over us, we here in California are getting ready for the start of wildfire season, pretending like it is getting colder, and waxing poetic about how lovely it would be to have seasons. Then we remember what real winter looks like, and immediately are happy with our season-less state. To me, September is the start of a new year, the harvest season, and the beginning of Halloween time.
Jews celebrate Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot in September this year. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are our New Year celebrations. Sukkot is a harvest festival that also celebrates the Jewish exodus from Egypt. In Mexico, September 16 is Independence Day! The celebration is actually around the Grito de Dolores (“Cry of Dolores”), a famous speech and battle cry from Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla for Mexican independence.
L’Shanah Tova
Apple Pâte de Fruit and Honey Milk Chocolate Ganache
L’Shana Tova translates to “Happy New Year”! Rosh Hashanah, celebrated September 6 this year, literally translates to “head of year”, and we celebrate by going to temple to pray, blowing the shofar (a ram’s horn), and having a large meal with family and friends. One of the most traditional foods for Rosh Hashanah is apples and honey to start the new year sweet! Don’t worry though, this chocolate is not overly sweet.
Viva
Horchata White Chocolate Ganache
In September 1810, Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang the church bells and gave an impassioned speech to a crowd of his followers, urging them to revolt. The war itself would last for a decade, but the Grito de Dolores is still the start of national celebration. Every year, the president of Mexico will ring the same bell Hidalgo rang, and will shout out the Grito Mexicano in remembrance of the cry that started everything. The holiday is celebrated with many red, white, and green foods and drinks. For drinks, the most popular are jamaica (hisbiscus) for red, horchata (rice milk) for white, and aqua fresca de limon (lime) for green. Horchata is made from rice soaked overnight, cinnamon, and almonds. It makes a lovely, light ganache that just makes you want to cry out!
Shifyon
Rye Bourbon Ganache
Sukkot is a very interesting Jewish holiday. We celebrate by building sukkah (“booth” or “tabernacle”), temporary structures covered in plant foliage. Originally, farmers would stay in these during the harvest, and they are also reminiscent of the types of fragile dwellings Jews lived in during the exodus from Egypt. Jews will stay in the sukkah for 8 days, eating and often sleeping there. While there are few particularly traditional foods for Sukkot, it is required to eat two or more ounces of grain in the first two days, particularly rye (shifyon in Hebrew), barley, spelt, or wheat. I decided to play with that a little, and highlight another great use for rye: bourbon! I used Bulleit Rye in this recipe. This chocolate is very bourbon forward, so look for the notes of vanilla, honey, and spice, along with the richness of the milk and dark chocolates.
Herbal
Lemon Myrtle, Nettle, and Gin White Chocolate Ganache
I love the grassy, herbaceous flavor of nettles, and when paired with the bright acidity of lemon myrtle, the result is just delightful. I don’t actually like gin very much, though! I dislike London dry gins in particular, which is basically all the gins I had known for a long time. I would always say that it was like drinking a mouthful of grass. It wasn’t until a work event promoting women in different fields of hospitality that I found a gin I actually liked! (I am absolutely not sponsored by them, but check out You & Yours Sunday Gin – it is really delicious!) Since then, I have been testing the waters with more herbal gins, ones that are less juniper based and have a botanical flavor. Pair those lovely flavors with nettles and lemon myrtle, and WOW! You will just have to try it.
Smooth
Blood Orange Rooibos Caramel
Rooibos is an herbal tea from South Africa, and is also known as bush tea or red bush tea. It wasn’t commercially cultivated until 1930 when Pieter Lafras Nortier figured out the seeds needed to undergo a process of scarification before being planted. The health benefits associated with rooibos include being naturally caffeine free and low in tannins, full of antioxidants, and may help with digestion. True or not, this tea is smoky, woodsy, and has floral geranium notes. Paired with citrus, it just really lights up.
Épices
Cubeb Pepper, Nutmeg, Ginger, and Clove Milk Chocolate Ganache
In France, quatre épices (“four spices”) is used ubiquitously throughout many dishes. The spice mix is made up of white or black pepper, nutmeg, ginger, and clove (and sometimes cinnamon), and has likely been around since the 17th century. It is thought the spice blend was originally a way to imitate the flavor of allspice, which could be prohibitively expensive. This spice mix is used in savory and sweet dishes, and is a staple in French cuisine. I decided to take a small twist and use cubeb pepper. You will get the pungent pepperiness from the cubeb, the sweetness from the ginger and nutmeg, and the floral earthiness from the clove, all wrapped into the sweet richness from the milk chocolate. Yum!
Cookie Flavors:
Pear Caramel Cookies
These cookies are just as tasty as you think they will be! Sweet, tender pear backed by home made caramel chunks in a light cookie dough gently spiced with cardamom. Yes please!
Galette Charentaise
These buttery delights are a specialty from my family’s region in France, Charente-Maritime. They have a thick crumb, not entirely unlike shortbread, but a bit lighter and very lightly flavored. Try to take a guess at the special ingredient I use!
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February, the month of love! Valentine’s Day is here, and chocolate is in the air. This is the time to ply that special someone with